airfryer

With so many dietary restrictions, the last thing I want on a plate is carrot sticks and lettuce leaves, but lately I’ve been craving more fresh, uncooked food. I’ve found myself swapping beds of white rice for beds of fresh baby spinach. Who am I?

These green vegan balls have been doing the rounds in my household. They’re very simple to make and only require six ingredients – ingredients that are staples in all kitchens let alone vegan kitchens: chickpeas, brown rice, baby spinach, soy sauce, garlic and ginger. It’s also another vegan airfryer recipe! But don’t worry if you don’t have one – you can cook them in the oven or on the stove, as you would normally cook vegan meatballs or patties.

This sauce definitely makes the dish. I often marinate some tofu in it or add it to a simple stir fry.

Lastly, how cute is this plate?! I made it in my first term of pottery.

Guys, I bought an airfryer. It didn’t seem like an essential purchase, but I had a gift card to a store that sold them, and I figured I may as well since I love potatoes so much and my body can’t tolerate oil/fats very well.

My first attempt was fries. I moved onto hasselback potatoes, sweet potato and brussels sprouts – things were going well. I had mastered the basics and it was time to get serious.

So, I went all in and made fried cauliflower ‘chicken’. You’ll love this recipe because it looks like chicken, is super crispy, has tonnes of flavour, is gluten-free without tasting like it’s gluten-free, is good for you and is 100% cruelty free. There’s not much more left to say. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Place three similar-sized shallow bowls or dishes on your counter. In one, mix sriracha, dijon and olive oil with the flax eggs. In another, mix flour with nutritional yeast, salt, garlic, onion, thyme, paprika, celery seeds and cinnamon. Pour some olive oil in the third dish (I recommend starting with less and adding more as you need it to avoid wastage).

Dip the cauliflower in the wet mix, then into the dry mix, before dipping it again in the wet mix and dry mix again. Repeat the process for all cauliflower pieces. You will have two coats of batter on each piece.

Transfer half the cauliflower in the dish containing the olive oil and then place in the airfryer basket. Be careful not to overcrowd the basket.

Set the airfryer to 200 degrees C and cook for 14 minutes, rotating after 7 minutes.

Remove the cauliflower from the basket and repeat with the remaining half of the cauliflower pieces. Serve warm.

NOTE: Although I haven’t tried it, this recipe could be adapted to be deep fried. To cook without an airfryer, skip the step that involves coating the battered cauliflower in olive oil.